Match in a minute or less
Forge FC defeated Vancouver FC 2-0 at Willoughby Community Park on Sunday, extending their unbeaten run to begin the 2025 Canadian Premier League season to 10 games, which now sets a CPL record.
After a quiet first half, Forge came alive in the second half, as Kyle Bekker opened the scoring after a nice Hoce Massunda cutback in the 52nd minute, putting his team on the front foot.
From there, it'd be all Forge the rest of the way, and they cemented their victory with a 79th-minute penalty from Dan Nimick, who converted the spot kick won by Nana Ampomah to secure all three points for his team.
Three Observations
Forge uses total control on both sides of the ball to extend unbeaten run:
It was business as usual for Forge in this one, as they continued their strong start to the 2025 CPL season with their third victory in their last four league games, as they've shown signs of starting to hit a new gear as a team.
Despite having been off to this undefeated start all year long, it's felt like they weren't quite at their best through the first few weeks of the season - now, it feels like they're starting to hit their top level.
Yet, that was what was likely most scary about Forge's strong start for the rest of the CPL, as Forge has yet to show off their top form for a variety of reasons. Now, as they continue to get healthier as a team and are starting to build chemistry after a busy offseason of arrivals, they're starting to show what they can do when they turn up the gears.
For example, this game ended up being a perfect example of what total control can look like, as Forge dictated every part of this game throughout 90 minutes, on both sides of the ball.
It took them a while to find a breakthrough, as Vancouver managed to survive the first half with the game at 0-0, but then the pressure only turned up from there, with a Forge victory the only natural conclusion to the match.
Just look at the numbers from this game, which paint the picture of how strong Forge played - they had 16 shots to Vancouver's 11 (and kept Vancouver from hitting the target at all in this game), winning the xG battle 2.62 to 0.55, and creating eight big chances to zero. Not only that, but they got to the right areas of the pitch while keeping Vancouver away from those same areas, too - they also had 35 touches in the box to Vancouver's 20 and 76 final third entries to Vancouver's 36.
Not only that, but it felt like Forge never really lost control of the match, even in the moments where Vancouver looked dangerous and started to push. Thanks to a newfound defensive solidity, which has helped them concede a league-low seven goals in 10 games, Forge are much better equipped to deal with their opponents' good spells of play. Whenever that happens, they sit back, absorb pressure and then attack into space the other way, showing that they don't always have to be the ones dictating proceedings in games.
That has helped them from game-to-game, but even helped them from half-to-half in this one, as they went from having 59.5% of possession in the first half to 43% in the second half, yet didn't have a drop-off in their play despite holding way less of the ball, as they used Vancouver's possession to their advantage with all of their late chances.
In this one, that helped them secure an important victory, but that's been the story of their strong start as a team, one that has seen them show different images of themselves en route to these positive results.
The xG plot from this game, with Forge's shots in purple and Vancouver's in black, showing Forge's dominance on both sides of the ball (OPTA)
Vancouver is looking for more veteran poise in tough stretch:
There's no doubt that this is a tough run for Vancouver, who remains in last place after going a fifth CPL game without a win in this one.
Most frustratingly, it continues to be hard for them to pinpoint the biggest source of their problems, as they once again put in a decent performance in the balance, yet were seemingly overwhelmed by Forge's ability to take over the game in stretches.
Their offence continues to be a big worry - they've now scored just nine times in 10 CPL matches - but have also conceded 19 times across that stretch, so they can't say that they've been perfect defensively, either.
What a game like this showed, however, is that they dearly miss some of their key leaders, such as Nicolás Mezquida and Aidan O'Connor, who missed this match due to injury. Having been two of their most important players to start the year, a stretch like this, where they've missed a large chunk of Vancouver's recent games, has shown why they've been so important to the team.
At first glance, it felt their biggest loss was their ability, which would've made sense - Mezquida is a dangerous attacker, one that helps spark Vancouver's attack, while O'Connor is a physical, commanding defender who wins a lot of duels.
Yet, what this stretch has shown is that this team misses their leadership as much as those abilities, because it's not as if Vancouver's overall level has dropped off in their absence. Instead, they've struggled to manage moments, as all of a sudden, goals are starting to leak a bit more frequently, while certain chances are being left wasted - perhaps, had Mezquida and O'Connor been on the pitch, they would've helped guide their teammates in those moments, even if they weren't the ones executing in those moments.
Once again, however, this shows the challenges that this young Vancouver team faces going forward, as they look to turn around their fortunes. Overall, they continue to compete in every game they've played, but they're coming up short in the key moments, as they can sometimes show their youthful nature when they need to be decisive.
In this game, one where they had to deal with the aftermath of a virus that affected the squad's preparation, yet still kept a respectable scoreline against one of the league's top teams, those key moments once again let them down.
For a young group, that's where they'll hope Mezquida and O'Connor can soon return - they'll hope it can help them refind that poise that they've been lacking in important moments, and perhaps help them refind some of that confidence they seemed to build in the month of May.
Photo Credit: Vancouver FC
Bekker's transformation a sign of Forge's maturity:
Interestingly, when asked about what's worked well for Forge so far in 2025, captain Kyle Bekker had an interesting answer after the match - he noted that this group has had a certain energy around it in terms of their mentality.
For someone who has seen it all with Forge, winning four North Star Cups and a couple of regular-season crowns, that was fascinating to see him say, as he's seen some talented Forge teams in his time with the club.
This side might not have the same star power as some of those past Forge teams, for example, but they've made up for that in other ways, and Bekker mentioned that their mentality has stood out to him.
In a sense, however, he's embodied what's worked well for this Forge team this year. Usually an offensive dynamo in midfield, one that can flirt with double-digit goal contributions, he's had to adapt his role this year, playing deeper on the pitch due to the arrival of some new attacking pieces.
Instead of crashing the box as a free-flying #8, he's often had to play more defensively like a #6 in a double-pivot, helping orchestrate Forge's build-up play while doing a lot of dirty work defensively.
Because of that, his goal in this game was actually his first goal contribution of 2025, which is surprising to see, given his status as someone who has nearly a half-century of them with Forge since 2019.
What that shows, however, is how Bekker has embraced his new role for Forge, as he's continued to put in some top performances for his team, even if they aren't as loud as they'd be if he were banging in goals and chipping in assists. Sometimes, it can be hard for an offensive player to make a change like that, but Bekker has done it selflessly, and his team have reaped the rewards of his leadership.
That's the story of this team, however, as players are doing a great job of stepping up where and whenever they're needed. If guys are asked to play in different positions, like Bekker and Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson have done, or if new faces are asked to step up for absent players, like Hoce Massunda has done, that doesn't affect Forge's ability to get results.
On a winning team, little things like that can go a long way, and right now, Forge's strong start shows that they're pushing all of the right buttons as a team at the moment.
All of Kyle Bekker's actions from this game (OPTA)
What They Said
*"The biggest thing in these games, and I think that was the last message I gave the guys before we walked out to start the game, is that our work defensively will dictate if we win this game, as that'll show how engaged we are, if we can nullify the opponent." *-- Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis
*"Since we got together in the early days of preseason, I think guys who've been around realized pretty quickly that this was a little bit of a different group, just character-wise. I think we have a great mix of players who've been around the league. They know the league, some have also played at other levels, so they have that experience, and then we have a good group of young guys who are coming in who are hungry, they're determined, but they have the right attitude." *****-- Forge FC midfielder Kyle Bekker
*"If you look at the big picture, we lost 2-0. That's how it went today. But I thought in moments, we had them at times, we were just missing maybe the end product, I had a few good chances, and I didn't capitalize on them. Yeah, they're a good team, but I feel like everybody's beatable in this league, honestly." ***-- Vancouver FC forward Elage Bah
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Malik Owolabi-Belewu, Forge FC
Owolabi-Belewu was a rock at the back for Forge in this one, playing a big role in his team's clean sheet. He shone on the ball, completing 56 out of 60 passes (93%), including two out of five long balls and six passes into the final third, but did his best work defensively, finishing with two tackles, two blocks, three clearances, two interceptions, 10 recoveries and three out of four duels won.
All of Owolabi-Belewu's actions from this game (OPTA)
What’s next?
Vancouver will head out on the road for their next match, as they travel to Nova Scotia to take on the Halifax Wanderers at Wanderers Grounds on Saturday, June 21st (11:00 a.m. PT/3:00 p.m. AT). Meanwhile, Forge will stay out on the road, as a date with Valour awaits at Princess Auto Stadium on Sunday, June 22nd (3:30 p.m. CT/4:30 p.m. ET).
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